Ericus Gerhardus Verkade (20 November 1835 – 8 February 1907) was a Dutch businessman and the founder of the

Verkade Royal Verkade (Dutch: Koninklijke Verkade) is a Dutch manufacturing company, owned by a Turkish conglomerate. The company is headquartered in Zaandam and was one of the oldest existing family companies in the Netherlands. In November 2014 the comp ...

manufacturing company in 1886.

Biography

Ericus Gerhardus Verkade was born on 20 November 1835 in

Vlaardingen Vlaardingen () is a city in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas river at the confluence with the Oude Maas. The municipality administers an area of , of which is land, with residents in . Geogr ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He was named after his father, the

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

Ericus Gerhardus Verkade Sr (1801–1835), who died one month before he was born. Verkade's mother, Geertruida van Gelder, was from

Wormerveer Wormerveer is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Zaanstad, and lies about 13 km northwest of Amsterdam. Wormerveer developed in the 15th century on the west bank of the Zaan river. It started t ...

and moved her family back to her birthplace shortly after Ericus Jr's birth.Verkade genealogy
/ref> Soon after school, Verkade started a vegetable oil factory, which burned out in 1875. The next eight years he and his brother-in-law traded in grains. On 2 May 1886, he started a steam-powered bakery, which company he first named "De Ruyter" for the first mill in

Zaandam Zaandam () is a city in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Za ...

that milled flour—the original "ruiter" ("chevalier") was on the company logo until 1994. Verkade originally baked bread and

rusk A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake, rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the UK, the name also refers to a whea ...

, but soon expanded to make cookies, chocolate, and snacks. Verkade became a household name in the Netherlands. In 1857 in Zaandam, Verkade married Trijntje Smit (1835–1863) in 1857, with whom he had a daughter. In 1865 he married Eduarda Thalia Koning (1841–1917), with whom he had 7 children. His son

Jan Verkade Johannes Sixtus Gerhardus (Jan) Verkade (18 September 1868 - 19 July 1946), afterwards Willibrord Verkade O.S.B., was a Dutch Post-Impressionist and Christian Symbolist painter. A disciple of Paul Gauguin and friend of Paul Sérusier, he belon ...

(1868–1948) became a well-known Post-Impressionist artist. Jan was the twin brother of Ericus Gerhardus (1868–1927) who would take over his father's business. Verkade died on 8 February 1907 in

Hilversum Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...

in the Netherlands.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verkade, Ericus 1835 births 1907 deaths Dutch industrialists People from Zaanstad